Driver Behaviour

What Is Harsh Breaking or Acceleration?

Harsh acceleration or braking is when a driver applies more force than normal to the vehicle's brake or accelerator. This can be an indicator of aggressive or unsafe driving. This is also is wasteful and uneconomic.
It should be noted that harsh braking and acceleration events can indicate crash avoidance, or that a driver has been involved in an accident.

What is harsh cornering?

Harsh cornering is when a driver enters a corner at a speed greater than that required to make the turn safely. This can result in a dangerous situation due to oversteer or roll-over of the vehicle.

Why is harsh braking, acceleration or cornering monitoring important?

There are many good reasons to monitor this behavour, namely:

Fuel Wastage — Harsh acceleration and braking consumes more fuel compared to driving at a steady speed, even pretending that you don't have a brake at all. Rather than relying on last-minute braking to prevent a collision, drivers should be focusing on the road ahead and anticipating changes in terrain or actions by other drivers.

High Tyre Usage — These three events have been proven to increase tyre usage, and may result in tyre damage.
Bad for the planet — Harsh driving has been proven to emit more harmful gases into the atmosphere.

Accident risk increases — Drivers that ignore safe following distances increase the risk of nose-to-tail crashes. Harsh braking could also result in a truck jack-knifing resulting in even more damage. When drivers plan ahead, monitor the weather, and anticipate changing conditions, sudden braking and serious accidents can be avoided.
Brake damage — Excessive harsh braking can cause vehicle brakes to overheat, reducing their useful lifespan, damaging the metal components or glazing brake pads making them less effective.

Aggressive driving — Aggressive driving could be a symptom of a stressed or angry worker, taking out their frustration through driving.